"What are you doing here?" Kaito asked with unconcealed anger in his voice.

Taiki put his cup of tea on the table and stood up. He looked at his nephew and his girlfriend with deep assessing eyes. However, his expression did not change much. He did not seem to care about being caught trespassing or seeing his nephew mad.

"I am concerned for your safety, so I came to check on you." He responded calmly.

Kaito scoffed with annoyance. He was not at odds with his uncle as such, and he did not hate him. However, that did not mean that he would welcome him into his regular life. He did not want to drag Martial Island into his planned blissful future.

"I did not know you were so thick-faced, Uncle. You have broken into my home, and you can still maintain a righteous attitude." He responded.

The older man ignored him and turned to Akira who was trying to get out from behind Kaito. The lively eyes and adorable face were a little at odds with the raw information he received. He could not picture all her capabilities in such a small package.

She was quite remarkable. He could not dislike the lady.

"I am Kaito's maternal uncle, Taiki Iekami. No, Iekami Taiki." He introduced himself.

"You were the one who took Kaito?" Akira asked fiercely.

She was a little angry at meeting the source of her problems in the past few months. Her round face became red as she huffed in anger. Usually, her cold voice and angry face were quite threatening. However, she had become a little plump. It diminished her aura and momentum.

"I took him partly for my own purposes, but I also wanted to protect him. At the time, he was in danger because of his curiosity. If he had not become a member of Martial Island, he would have become a target by a lot of people." Taiki replied evenly.

This man was not used to explaining himself. However, despite everything, he wanted to keep a good relationship with Kaito. Perhaps, it was for the powerful and wonderful sister, who he only remembered vaguely. Or maybe, he was just tired of his bland life on Martial Island.

Regardless of the reason, he did not plan on returning to the island for the moment. He had already decided to stay in Mountain Ridge and watch over his nephew and his wife.

"There are better ways to handle the situation. How could you just kidnap him?" Akira asked with dissatisfaction, even though her anger was minimal.

"There were other ways, but I chose the safest," Taiki said. "Please, come in."

Kaito wanted to throw a tantrum. "This is our house. Why are you acting like you are in charge?"

Taiki did not respond. The two people stepped into the house completely without further ado. Since this uncle was already inside and he did not seem to have ill intentions, they could only accept the situation and find out more later.

Kaito found it quite interesting that the man had followed him from Martial Island. He did not know Taiki's ultimate intentions for following him. However, after remaining with the Iekami clan for a while, he had discovered that the ties between Taiki and the rest of the family were not too tight.

It was unlikely that he would hurt them for the sake of the clan. If anything, Taiki had protected him during his stay on the island against those greedy relatives. Still, he could not understand the reason for his actions.

"Let's go in and take a look." Akira pulled Kaito by his arm.

Kaito glanced again at his uncle before following Akira. The two of them looked at the house with an indescribable sweetness even after the interruption. Even though they had lived together in the apartment, the house could be considered their first.

"This kitchen is so nice." Akira gasped with pleasure.

As a chef, she was a little particular about kitchens. She believed it was the heart of any house. If she did not like the kitchen in a home, she would dislike the entire place.

Kaito felt a little smug. He was not too sure about Akira's preferences, so he called Hina and asked for help with the remodel. He wanted the house to be a surprise, but he also wanted Akira to like it. He could not do things carelessly.

Of course, Hina had not been receptive to his request at first.

She blamed him for abandoning Akira during her moment of need and letting her suffer for so long. The insults used in that conversation were a little harsh, but Kaito could not defend himself at all. He could not tell the girl that he had been kidnapped and taken to a mysterious island.

However, after coming up with an excuse about his maternal family, she had reluctantly helped him with the redesign. For now, he would enjoy the credit for himself and tell Akira about Hina's input later. It would be payback for the insults.

"You asked Hina for help, didn't you?" Akira asked as they left the kitchen.

Kaito looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Then, he laughed without guilt. All of Hina's work was also to his credit because he knew to ask for her help.

"How did you know?" He still asked.

"She is the only one I told about my dream kitchen. I know you cannot even tell different appliance brands apart without a label." Akira laughed.

The two people looked through the house until they reached the master bedroom. All the bedrooms were dull and drab without anything special. They might as well have been hotel rooms. It was the same for the master bedroom.

Akira turned to look at Kaito in question. He reached to her and held her in his arms, and placed his chin on her head.

"I thought we could decorate the master bedroom and the nursery for Little Precious together." He said.

Akira broke free from his hold and looked at him with a smile.

"You can be a little romantic when you put your mind into it, Takahashi Kaito." She whispered.

He leaned and kissed her forehead. "I try."

"Your efforts are much appreciated." She pulled his head down and planted a loud smooch on his lips.

Kaito hugged her for a long moment. "I am sorry."

Akira was imprisoned in his arms, so she could not look at him. "What are you sorry about?"

"For leaving you." He said.

"Don't be silly. That was not within your control." She responded.

"Still, you suffered. I do not want you to go through that kind of pain and uncertainty again." He said.

"You cannot control the world, Kaito. Things will happen as they will. Life is unpredictable. We already knew that something like that could happen. We just have to live our life happily and be careful enough to avoid threats." Her hand rubbed his back lightly.

"I want to eliminate the threats to you, to us from the roots," Kaito said with a gruff voice.

Akira wanted to say that it was impossible to get rid of all the threats against them. In the years they had been in the world, both of them had offended a lot of people. There was no need to mention Kaito who was an assassin.

She had also messed with some people while handling cases for the Immortal Sword Brigade. If she had not messed with unfriendly individuals, she would probably not be under threat from the person behind Watch. She did not think the attempt on her life was simply a business venture.

"Alright. We will do it together." She finally said.

When the two of them went downstairs after a shower, they found a simple meal laid out at the table. Kaito looked at his austere uncle suspiciously. Nothing was more suspicious than an inexplicably solicitous person.

"What are you up to?" He asked.

"I am serving food." He paused. "Surely, you do not expect your pregnant girlfriend to make food for you."

Kaito was miffed at the suggestion. He had already hired someone to cook and clean, but there was a delay in their arrival. He did not want to take chances with unknown people, so he reached out to his most trusted subordinates to move to Mountain Rudge.

Unfortunately, the housekeeper could not wrap things in Tokyo quickly enough. They would only arrive the next day. However, he was not completely useless. He had already ordered a takeout meal from a good restaurant in the city.

"I ordered a takeout meal already." He responded with dissatisfaction.

"You mean that?" Taiki asked as he pointed at a few bags on the kitchen island.

The open floor design combined the kitchen, living room and dining area, allowing free flow of light and movement. Therefore, they could all see the bags of food from a local restaurant. It was one of the best local places, and Kaito knew Akira loved their food.

"The food is very fresh and healthy." Kaito defended himself without prompting.

"You should know there is no guarantee when it comes to outside food. The preservatives and oils used can be harmful. It is good to be more cautious, especially at this stage of Little Akira's pregnancy." Taiki responded calmly.

Akira pulled a chair and sat down. "Thank you, Uncle Taiki."

Kaito was miffed. "Do not accept the situation so naturally! You remember he is the one who kidnapped me, right?"

"Let bygones be bygones." Akira waved a hand as she accepted a bowl of white rice.

"I am telling you. He had ulterior motives." Kaito said.

"Do you plan to harm us, Uncle Taiki?" Akira asked with clear eyes.

"No. I will protect you." Taiki replied with his usual even tone.

"See. It is fine. Sit down." Akira said as she tasted some of the food. "These mushrooms are delicious."

Kaito looked at Akira incredulously. Since when was she such a carefree person? She was not the kind of person who let bygones be bygones. Maybe she surrendered under the lure of good food. He could not deny that his uncle was not a slouch in the kitchen.

Unlike him…

The thought depressed him.